X23
by Kevin Joe Bays
Summary: Life forms in her and she hesitates, her need to be a man in conflict with her need to protect the life forced in her by Dr Sarrah Kinney.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 01 version 1.2

(I've had a few people comment that so far Ranma seems way too comfortable around all these new people. To this, all I can say is how many times have we seen Ranma act nervous in the anime or manga? He's a man without fear. Unless it's a cat To show nervousness, wheather it's there or not, would be a weakness and he wouldn't show it..)

"We need a surrogate," the man demanded.

"Agreed, but I'm not about to."

"Listen here Dr Kinney. Either you find a surrogate tonight or your little side project will be terminated. So what's it gonna be? Gonna play mommy?"

"Just give me a few hours and I'll find someone," Kinney pleaded.

"As I said, you have till tomorrow. Find someone if you can," he said. Sarah Kinney watched as Zander Rice walked away laughing. 

'That bastard... he just lives to make things difficult for me,' she thought as she turned to her computer. She then pulled up the database. The database was constantly updated with data collected from around the world. The organization preferred to know where the top candidates for any sort of experiment were, in the event one was needed at the last moment.

'I need a female,' she typed out the first request. 'Ten million returns, hmmm... high endurance... I'd say the rating should be some where in the ninety to one hundred range... A little better. Only eight thousand that time... Still... she has to have well built hips to support the embryo during it's growth...'

She entered in the estimated body sizes she was hoping for.

'Nine hundred and eight... We can do better... Blood type,' she quickly entered the blood type of the embryo. The computer returned with seven. She quickly arranged the list in order of their ratings in each of her requirements. At the top of the list was the name Saotome Ranko, age 16.

"Perfect," Dr Kinney exclaimed aloud. She knew of course before she took any other actions, she would need to have a visit with M-13. The man was creepy, but for her purpose, he would be required.

She made her way down the long flight of stairs. As she neared the bottom, she pulled out her ID badge.

"ID please," a large white man in the standard company security blue shirt and black pants asked menacingly. Without pausing, she lifted it up to the officer's eyes.

"How's it going Tom?" With this question, his menacing air vanished and he smiled as he answered.

"I'm fine Dr. Kinney and yourself?"

"Over worked and under paid as usual. The corporate life eh?"

"It's a wonderful thing."

She then passed by Tom and placed her hand on the scanner and looked into the retinal scanner. A moment passes before the door before her finally opened to reveal a darkly light room. Inside, four bare walls and a strange man in a wheel chair greeted her without fan fair.

If she knew M-13, he already knew exactly why she was there. His ability enabled him foresight of an different kind. He could predict where things were likely to be at a given moment. Of course he couldn't actually see them. He just got a feeling of the air. It'd taken the organization a long time to train him to match those feelings with coordinates.

Of course, she knew he would already have her answer because his powers also granted him perfect clarity on things that were about to happen directly to him. Such a power she did not envy. She heard the physiologist mention that early on, he was abscessed with how he was going to die.

Before M-13 was a piece of white paper. On that paper was the purpose of her visit. She couldn't help but be creeped out by this even though she knew it was going to happen.

She quickly picked up the phone and called the search and capture division. "Captain, I need you to locate and retrieve someone for me. I'm faxing the information to you at this very moment... No, this can't wait till morning. This is a top priority. You have permission to take the orbital flight unit. You have until 5 am to complete your mission."

She sparred a glance at her watch and sighed gently. It was 7 PM currently and she figured, with luck, Dr. Rice wouldn't bother pulling the plug till morning time. That gave them a grand total of eleven hours. She would be cutting it so close, you could feel the razor burns coming.

- - - - - -

Several hours later.

The red head's sparring match against Ryoga was now high over Tokyo. They'd managed to scale one of the taller buildings in the area as they battled for no apparent reason. At least not any reason Ranma-chan knew of, but she didn't mind. Since the Saffron fight, she had been dying for a large scale fight. Something she knew she could always count on Ryoga for.

"You know P-chan," Ranma-chan started.

"Don't call me that!" Ryoga shouted.

"You know Ryoga, you think there's a chance we could just spar for the sake of sparring one of these days?"

"Not till I grind you into the pavement Saotome!"

"Geez man, why are you always so angry at me?"

"I've been through hell and back cause of you Saotome!"

"So you say, but you never say anything past that."

"Just shut up and fight damn you!" Ranma-chan suddenly cut in through Ryoga's defenses and preformed a flurry of a thousand punches to Ryoga's mid section. This action on a normal person would have killed them, but Ryoga only passed out.

"Damn it Ryoga..." She swore as she caught her breath. 

Seeing that the fight was clearly over, she went to the roof top elevator. After waiting a few moments, the door opened and she was greeted by a man dressed in black. Before she could register the gun in his hand, it went off. She looked down to see a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her side. She struggled against it's effects, but to no avail. The bald man, an American she assumed by the way he looked, fired a second round to make sure.

This was more then she was able to take and she passed out.

- - - - - -

"We got her."

"Great, where was she found any ways?"

"We were lead to a skyscraper in downtown Tokyo. We're not exactly sure what she was doing up there, but it seemed clear she was leaving as we arrived."

"Stranger. No matter, we have what we need. Prep her for implantation right away."

"Already taken care of."

- - - - - - -

Hours later, Ranma-chan felt her senses returning. Her head throbbed from the tranquilizer that was used on her. She stretched a moment, noticing she wasn't wearing her clothes any more. Just something that felt like it was made out of paper.

"Wonderful, you're awake," a voice said to her. She turned and saw a woman dressed in a white lab coat.

"Who are you ?"

"I'm Dr. Kinney."

"Is this some sort of hospital?"

"Sort of Miss Ranko."

"How do you know that name?" Ranma-chan asked, doing her best to hide the nervousness she was feeling.

"Well, I had at better at least know your name. We found it in a medical database of your doctor."

"Dr. Tofu's?" She thought of the good doctor and how he kept two medical files. One for her male side and one for her female side.

"I'm not really sure to be honest. In fact, you're a very lucky girl to have been selected."

"Lucky? How so?"

"Because you're being given a great honor. You're here because we needed someone to be a surrogate," Kinney calmly explained.

"A what?" she asked, her gut telling her she wasn't going to like the answer.

"A mother for an embryo," this caused Ranma-chan to clenched her fist.

"A... mo... mother?"

"Well, being as cute as you are, I'm sure it was bound to happen sooner or later. Don't worry. You won't be expected to care for the child after it's born. Just carry it to term and you'll be free to go afterwards. Play your cards right and we'll even compensate you for your time. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to make my rounds. Till later."

Dr. Kinney left quickly, leaving Ranma-chan to try to figure out what was going on.

'I don't know who you guys are, but I'm not gonna let you guys hold me,' she thought. With that, she got out of the bed. She quickly made a quick search of the room for her clothes, only to turn up empty handed. 

"Well, clothes or no, I'm getting out of here," she said to herself. She took a second to calm herself, then took up the stance.

- - - - - -

"Dr. Kinney, the girl's escaped!" a voice called over the loud speaker.

"Escaped? How's that possible? I was just in there..." She turned around and opened the secured door and peered inside. To her dismay, the room was empty. Since the room offered no actual hiding places, she knew searching it would be a waste of time. As she turned to call for a lock down of the base, she swore she felt something brush past her.

- - - - - -

The klaxons were blaring and all the guards were now on full alert. Not that Ranma-chan felt threatened by this. After all, no matter how well trained a soldier was, he couldn't hit what he didn't know was there. Still she'd hoped it would take longer for them to realize she was gone.

She suddenly felt the need to acquire a set of clothing before continuing any further. She came across a door. With a silent motion, she broke the door from it's hinges. To her relief, the room she found was a residential. She rushed in and began her search.

Her hunt quickly took her to the bedroom and straight to the closest. Inside, she found several dresses, all a bit too risqué for her own taste and under normal circumstances, she wouldn't even think of wearing one. As it was, she needed to be clothed to keep from standing out. She decided on a black evening gown, the longest in the collection, that didn't even reach her knees. On the plus side, she figured it would be better for fighting then a full length dress if she had to fight.

After she finished dressing and finding a matching pair of shoes, she slowly she made her way North, counting on the fact that the base had to eventually come to an end. Thankfully, she managed to find a large steal door with a simple panel. She considered the possibility of hacking the door panel, but realistically knew her computer skills weren't good enough to hack a calculator, so she opted for the other use of the word hack and began to beat the door up.

Each punch against the metal caused a shot of pain to go through her, but she did her best to ignore it. After all, if she couldn't escape, a fate worst then death awaited her. The dreaded motherhood. The door held strong at first, but eventually gave up against the unrelenting fist of furry. As the door fell, a blast of cold wind hit her.

"What the hell? Where are we?" She asked as she exited the compound. Before her was a snowy landscape filled with pine trees and mountains.

Her gut had told her she was definitely farther north then she was used to and so she quickly began heading South. She continued walking for two days and nights before she felt she had to stop and rest. As luck would have it, she found a cave just big enough for her to crawl into.

- - - - -

"There was a commotion from an area deep in the northern Canadian forest," a calm yet stern voice announced

"Really," The gruff man asked, sounding unconcerned.

"Yes. What's more, I've been attempting to track a young girl that is fleeing from that area."

"Attempting?"

"Well, to tell the truth, her life signs keep vanishing. It's only through calculations and guess work that I've been able to find her when she reappears." This news appeared to shock the gruff man. "I think it's appropriate that you go and try to find her. She might know something."

"How exactly did you find this out Chuck?"

"I was scanning for new mutants and for a moment I was pulled there. I believe the girl may be a mutant but I can't be sure till you bring her in for a scan."

- - - - - -

Ranma-chan's sleep was restless as she dreamed of the Tendo dojo.

"You're with child?" Akane asked. "How exactly did that happen? Was it Kuno or Ryoga? Or both?"

"No way," Ranma-chan protested. Suddenly both men appeared.

"I can't not wait to see the shining smile on my beautiful child," Kuno proclaimed.

"You mean my child. Don't forget I did her too."

- - - - -

Ranma-chan screamed and jolted up. She whipped the sweat off of her brow. Looking up, she noticed it was day time already. Crawling out of the cave, she once again started her trek South. Within moments, her senses were going crazy.

"Did they find me?"

"What'cha you runnin from darlin?" a gruff voice asked her. She turned to spot the man dressed in a yellow and blue costume. The odd thing about this man was how feral he seemed.

"Nothin I can't handle," she stated confidently.

"Then why you runnin?"

"Don't know. Just seemed right I guess. If you're planning on trying to take me back, you'll have to defeat me first." With that, she stomped on the ground fiercely and took up a defensive posture.

"Not plannin on doing that. In fact, I happen to have brought along a jet. I promise if you come with me, I'll protect you."

"I don't need protecting pal, but I wouldn't mind the lift. This place is freezing."

"Fine, suit yourself. I parked over there."

They headed over to the black stealth jet and prepared for take off.

"Hey buddy, you never told me your name."

"Yeah. You never told me yours neither," he replied.

"Saotome Ranma."

"You Japanese?" Logan asked. Ranma's response was a nod. "Name's Logan."

"Just Logan?"

"Hey, did I ask why you gave your family name?"

"No..."

"Hang on, it's gonna be a rough take off... never did learn to fly this thing."

- - - - - -

The flight was uneventful, not that Ranma-chan expected the odd Canadian to give her much grief. What really shocked her was where they were going to land. It was a huge mansion and she was certain the grounds surrounding the mansion were almost ten times the size of the enormous building.

"Whoa," was all she could say.

"Big ain't it?" Logan said with a grunt. To this, Ranma-chan just shook her head. "I'm sure ol'Chuck will be pleased that he's impressed another person with his house.

"Who is this Chuck guy?" This caused a gutter laugh from Logan. "What's so funny?"

"Well, sides me, no one calls him that."

"What is his name then?"

"I'll let him introduce himself. Hold on. We're landing." This declaration immediately reminded Ranma-chan of the take off and she braced herself.

- - - - - -

Moments later, Ranma-chan did something she never thought she'd do. She kissed the ground and thanked the heavens she was still alive.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad a landing," Logan stated.

"Really? You collide with the landing platform like that every time?"

"Well, actually this was my first landing." Hearing a thud, he turned to see Ranma-chan on her side.

"Logan," a deep but gentle voice called out. "Next time you're up for some time in the danger room, you'll be running the simulator program and not be leaving till you've mastered the jet take off and landings."

"Hey Chuck," Logan called to the unknown person. Ranma-chan's attention focused and she saw a bald man in a wheel chair rolling up. It was plain he disapproved of being called by that name but said nothing more to Logan. Instead he turned to Ranma-chan.

"Welcome to my mansion Ranma-chan," he said with a smile. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. You're in my school for the gifted."

(A/N I have to admit I'm at a lose for how the Weapon X people find Ranma so fast. For now, it will have to remain one of those things... like how Shampoo suddenly found him despite there being almost no way she could have known he was there.

Or perhaps the agency has use of a mutant that can see the future to a limited degree... hmm... It could say to look at a certain coordinates but it wouldn't actually know what was there...

Or something else. Any thoughts on this issue would be greatly appreciated.) 


	2. Chapter 2

(if you could only hear me now. Please let this chapter be well liked... oh lordy, I think this is going to be a nerve racking night. Some of you may know this is my first major story in almost 2 years. Suffered a major case of writers block after I got fired. Not sure if they were related, but oh well. I think I'm back. I just hope I'm not writing out my... backside. Hope you enjoy it.)

Chapter 02

Ranma-chan allowed herself to be escorted to a medical chamber. She'd been tempted to ask for some hot water, but reconsidered since she didn't want any one else to know of her secret. Besides, she knew it was only a matter of time before hot water found her.

Suddenly she felt a buzz in her mind. It was the sort of feeling she got when an enemy was near only it was different. It was as if the danger was already inside her. She held her head and groaned as she began to put forth a mental wall in hopes of stopping the intruder.

"My apologies," came Xavier's voice. Ranma-chan turned to the balding man.

"It was you... in my head?"

"Yes, I was hoping to discover more about you. You see that is my special ability."

"Well, try to stay out ok?" she asked as she tapped her head. "I'm more then willing to answer any questions I can answer."

The three turned the corner and entered into a room marked medical bay. Inside waiting for them was a red head.

"Ranma, this is Jean Gray. She'll be performing the examination." Xavier commented. "If you would, please lay on this table," Jean asked.

"What is this?" Ranma-chan replied as she gently lifted herself onto the flat bed.

"This device will allow me to do a complete scan and help me reveal any potential mutations in your body."

"Mutations?" she said with a swallow.

"Please don't be afraid," Xavier interrupted. " My organization is charged with helping people with genetic mutations. We help them learn to control their powers as they develop." 

With this information, Ranma-chan hesitantly climbed on the table.

"Fraid you won't find any mutations in me. I'm just an average gu... girl," she cringed at her mistake.

"Most mutations happen just around puberty," Jean commented.

Ranma-chan laid back and closed her eyes as the table slide into a narrow tunnel. It wasn't as if she was afraid. She just felt more relaxed with her eyes closed. After a few minutes of waiting, she heard the door to the tube open again, followed by the table exiting swiftly.

"Thank you Ranma. If you want, I'm sure I can arrange a tour of the mansion while you wait on the test results."

"Uh... sure."

Xavier pressed a button on the station to call one of the students.

"Scott, could you meet me in the medical bay?"

"Sure thing," came the reply.

- - - - - -

"Scott, this is Ranma. Ranma, this is Scott." 

"A pleasure to meet you Ma'am." As Scott said this, Ranma-chan repressed the urge to kill him. To pull that off, she was deep in the soul of ice.

"Like wise," she replied with a curtsey.

"Scott, I want you to give Ranma here a tour of the mansion."

As Ranma-chan and Scott left the room, Jean turned to Xavier and Logan.

"The scan detected an X-Factor gene," Jean started, "however something is off..."

"What's up Jean?" Logan asked pointedly.

"It seems that the gene is not a natural part of her, but it's becoming part of her."

"Is that possible?"

"Normally no, but if one were to couple with a mutant at a young enough age, then maybe..."

"So what you sayin? She and a mutant did it together?"

"If she wasn't for the fact that she's a virgin, then yes. I found something in her womb though. It seems an embryo was implanted into her."

"An this is causin her to mutate?"

"Yes, the embryo is a mutant. Or it will be after it's born and reaches puberty."

"Why would they implant her with an embryo? What would they gain?"

"I'm not certain, but I was able to obtain a full genetic mapping of it. With time, I'll be able to determine the reason and possibly learn the exact nature of the mutation."

"In the mean time, I'm gonna go back to where I found her and track down where she came from." To this statement, Xavier only nodded.

- - - - - -

"So what's the deal here?" Ranma-chan asked.

"What's that?" Scott replied, unsure as to what Ranma-chan was asking.

"That guy in the wheel chair..."

"We call him Professor X."

"Professor X said Jean was doing a scan for a mutant gene."

"Yeah, though he already must have a good idea that you're a mutant. The scan will show him what sort of powers you might have or be able to have in the future."

"Oh...," Not entirely understanding. She suddenly felt the need to change the subject. "This place is huge."

"Well, we have a lot of students living here, so it can seem a bit cramped from time to time."

"I couldn't even imagine calling a place like this cramped," Ranma-chan stated in disbelief. Without warning, Scott suddenly stopped moving and held his hand up. To Ranma-chan, it looked like someone getting ready to talk on the phone.

"Right," Scott said aloud. "The Professor wants us to meet him downstairs as soon as we're done."

"I think I've seen all I need to see for now. Not like he's gonna take me in as a student, so I really won't be needing to know where the fire escapes are," Ranma-chan jokingly commented.

- - - - - -

"Thank you for gathering so quickly." Xavier commented.

"No prob. So what's up?"

"Ranma, I'd like to extend an offer to you to stay here with us in the mansion."

"You're joking right?"

"No, I'm quiet serious. You'll be given access to the entire mansion. Of course, the lower area will be restricted for now. I only bring visitors down there for medical scans."

"Of course."

"The offer to stay here, at least for now, will be until your child is born. With no promise, I may extend that invitation later, but I want to see how things progress for now."

"My... what?" Ranma-chan exclaimed. She'd all but forgotten about the embryo that was now growing in her. "You gotta remove that thing!"

"You want to kill the child growing in you?" Professor X asked, some what unnerved by this.

"ki... oh...," Suddenly Ranma's face contorted. She glanced down a her stomach. "It's... a life... isn't it?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"My dear, you're now carrying a living person inside of you."

"A weak living person," She mumbled as she thought back to what her father enjoyed saying. 'It's a martial artist duty to protect the weak... but..."

"Your child relies on you to defend it right now." She looked Professor X in the eyes, trying to tell if he was in her mind or just reading her body language. "Don't fret. I'm not reading your thoughts.

"You're doing a good job telling what I'm thinking despite that," she commented sarcastically, before letting out a sigh. "Can you take care of the child after it's born?"

"We'll talk about the child after it is born." Charles stated calmly.

- - - - - - -

Later that day, Ranma-chan stood in a room that had been given to her to use during her stay. Her first action was to change her clothes. After locating a pair of black sweat pants and a blue t-shirt, she peeled herself out of the skin tight dress that she got from the Weapon X compound. With the new clothes, which felt much cleaner and they covered her much better, she felt her thoughts return to the baby.

'Damn it all...," she swore looking at her stomach. 'What's gonna happen to you when I change into a guy?'

She laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling, her thoughts allowing her no rest.

'You're a part of my female side, resting in a womb I'm not supposed to have... will you die if I change?' she wondered.

Slowly she got to her feet and walked over to the bathroom. She stared at the hot water knob and wondered if she should try it or not.

"I have to defend the weak, but can I keep this one alive till it can leave my body?" she wondered aloud. Suddenly an explosion went off. The restroom sent shards of metal and hot water her way. "Fate..."

The water was indeed hot and she felt her feminine side melt away with the water.

"Oh god..." he silently said to himself. He was male now and several shards of metal were lodged in his chest. He could see none of them punctured his heart, but at least one was inside his lung while the rest were deep in his gut. All he could do for a moment was lay on the ground helpless, lamenting the loss of the child.

He turned his head to the side and spotted two men entering his room through the hole in the bathroom wall. One of them reminded him of the bald bastard that started the mess. He owed that man a world of pain.

The other was about the same height, but with a thick head of orange hair. He guessed that one was probably Scottish. He wasn't anyone that Ranma could remember, but if he was with the bald man, he too would suffer.

"Damn it all, I was certain the scan showed her in this room," the bald man exclaimed in a deep voice.

"The lassie was here though," the other commented as he picked up the black dress off the floor. 

"You... bastards...," Ranma called out as he slowly and painfully got to his feet. His hand grasped the pipe lodged in his lung and yanked it out. The pain almost brought him to his knees, but he held fast, not showing weakness to his foes. As the pain died down, he felt the odd sensation building in his chest. It was almost like an itch, but he knew he had to resist scratching it. He continued reaching down and pulling out the various metal objects in him. Each hurt more then he could describe, but each time, he managed to stay on his feet.

"You're still alive?" the bald man asked, obviously some what unnerved by the display Ranma was putting on for him. "Where's the girl that was just here?"

"You're from that hospital aren't you?" Ranma asked, suddenly falling to one of his knees and coughing up blood.

"Where we're from isn't your business boy. Just hand over the girl now!"

Ranma returned to his feet and went into stance. He was grateful that each moment that passed brought less and less pain. As he did this, the door opened to reveal Scott.

"What's going on in here? What are you people doing?" Scott shouted out as his hand went to his visor. "Where's Ranma at?"

"Stay back," Ranma shouted. "This is my fight."

"Look pal, I don't know who you are, but any fight in this mansion is my business."

Ranma turned to the men in black again, figuring he could deal with Scott when it was safer. Reaching into his soul, he pulled up his confidence. "Moko Takabisha!"

The energy knocked the two men to the ground, their bodies badly contorted as they landed. This also caused Scott to turn to face Ranma just in time to see the young man fall unconscious. As Scott went over to Ranma, he noticed the various puncture wounds in him. Picking Ranma up, he took the boy to the medical bay.

- - - - - -

"Jean, this boy is badly injured."

"I'll do what I can for him," Jean told him as she looked over Ranma. "This looks bad... What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Scott stated as he began to pace. He had no love for intruders, but he didn't like the idea of a stranger dying in front of him. He watched as Jean took a warm wet cloth and wipe at the wound on the boy's chest. To his surprise, the wound there didn't appear nearly as bad as it had just ten minutes ago.

"You can relax. These only seem to be flesh wounds. Not very badly as far as I can tell."

"What? When I found him upstairs, he was bleeding severally from several of those wounds."

"They aren't bleeding now. Just had to wipe away the blood off of him."

"He has to be a mutant then. Upstairs he fired off some sort of energy blast."

"I'll do a scan on him now, but I'm currently working on Ranma's scan results. I won't have time to look over this boy's scan results till tomorrow."

- - - - -

As he began to wake, he felt a warm sensation on his chest. It felt good and he wished it wouldn't end, but part of him had to know if it was real or in his imagination. Slowly he opened his eyes to see the smiling face of Jean.

"Good to see you're awake. Shame to see such a good looking guy faint."

"I didn't faint. The injuries caused me to pass out." As he said this he noticed that he could breath normally again. Reaching to his chest, he not only found it bare, but free of any wounds. "Whoa..."

"You seem to have a remarkable healing factor." She noticed the look of mild shock on the young man's face. "Is this the first time you've seen your power work? Don't worry,. I'll arrange for the Professor to talk to you. He'll be able to explain what's happening to you. By the way, I don't suppose you could explain why you were in Ranma's room and where she went to?"

"I'm right here... I mean..."

"I'm sure you don't mean to tell me you're a pretty girl." she said with giggle. "If so, you're rather flat chested."

"I ain't no girl!" Ranma exclaimed a little too loudly.

"Jean?" the voice of Xavier called out. "Is everything ok in there?"

"Yes Professor. Nothing I can't handle." Xavier entered the cell.

"So this is the young man that was caught?"

"Yes, Scott brought him down here. Apparently the boy had been severally injured, but healed fast."

"Interesting. Would you share your name with us?"

"My name?" Ranma swallowed hard. The moment he feared was upon him. "My name is Saotome Ranma."

"I clearly saw the scans Professor and Ranma was a girl. This is a boy as you can see," she stated as she pointed to Ranma's bare chest.

"May I have some water?" Ranma suddenly asked.

"Certainly, but first, may I see into your mind?"

"Why?"

"I wish to see if you have any hostile intentions."

"Fine, look if you want." With that, Ranma did his best to calm himself. He could feel something entering his mind slowly. He was grateful when he felt it withdraw almost immediately. Xavier rolled over to the sink and drew a cup of water and brought it over to Ranma.

"Thank you," he accepted the cup and poured the contents on himself. Xavier's eyebrow arched with curiosity as the transformation happened. Ranma made no attempt to cover her now bare breast. Instead, she continued to act like she were still a man. Jean on the other hand quickly threw a blanket over the red head.

"I've never seen a mutant that changes gender with water," Jean commented.

"Perhaps the water only acts as a means to give enough power for the change," Xavier offered.

"I told ya, I ain't a mutant," Ranma protested. "That change is cause of a curse I got in China."

"A Chinese curse you say?"

"Yeah, me and pops traveled there to train, but neither of us knew why it was considered dangerous. At least not till it was too late."

"Amazing. I would like to hear more about this later, but for now something concerns me."

"The baby?"

"Yes, please come with me. Jean, I want you to check her and see if the child is still intact."

"Of course Professor."

- - - - -

In the medical bay again, Ranma laid down for yet another scan. While she was beginning to dislike the scans, she wanted to know if the child was still there or now. After all, it wasn't as if she could even tell it was there by looking at her stomach.

"We're done," Jean called to her. She felt the table retract out of the scanner. As soon as it was out, she got to her feet.

"Is it ok?" she asked, trying not to sound eager. After all, she only wanted to make sure a weak person hadn't been killed. Wasn't as if she wanted to give birth.

"Yes, the womb is still intact. As far as I can tell, the baby is completely healthy." Jean then paused before bringing up the scan of Ranma's male side. She noticed a strange anomaly in Ranma's stomach area, but no baby. "Ranma, can you turn into a guy? I want to do another scan."

"Sure...," Ranma said with a groan. She waited for Jean to tell her where the hot water was only to find her starring. "I need hot water to change."

"Oh, sure. It's over there," she pointed to a coffee maker. "The hot water spout is on the side."

"A bit hotter then I needed it, but ok." she poured some and prepared for a minor burn as she poured it on her head. The burning sensation aside, she felt better as she turned back into a man.

After a few moments, Jean got the scan and Ranma was standing beside her.

"Interesting..." she commented.

"You find something?"

"Yes. The embryo. It's still there, but not there."

"You want to speak Japanese Doctor?"

"Well I'm not really fluent in Japanese. Actually I can only say Watashi wa nihongo hanasemasen."

"Whatever, what did your scan show?"

"An energy patter in your stomach. It matches the life signs of the embryo. Ranma, I know you're probably tired of scans, but for the next 9 months, I want you to come down for a scan when ever you get a chance. Also, try to stay female. At least till I'm sure of what's going on."

"Fine," Ranma replied with a sigh. Splashing himself with a cup of cold water, she shook her head to dry it off faster.

"Ranma, I think I should tell you something."

"Hmm? What's up Jean?" Ranma-chan asked as politely as she could muster.

"I wanted to tell you that there is a side effect of the embryo being in you."

"Side effect? Like the kind I have after eating one of Shampoo's special dishes?"

"Shampoo? huh?"

"Never mind. What sort of side effect?"

"It seems the embryo is introducing the X-gene into your body."

"X-gene?" Ranma-chan questioned, obviously not grasping the meaning.

"The X-gene is responsible for mutations."

"You mean... I'm gonna be a mutant?"

"I believe you've already begun to mutate. The healing was way too fast to be anything other then a healing factor."

"That doesn't sound so bad..."

"Well, regardless as to what happens, it's not bad Ranma. I just wanted to make you aware that there may be more mutations to come. I'll help you adjust as will the Professor."

"Gee.. thanks," Ranma flatly responded. 

"So you hate mutants?"

"Huh? I never said that."

"Then what's with the response you gave me."

"Nothing really... it's just I don't like gaining something without giving a lot of hard work to earn it...," he paused before adding softer, "everything 'cept sweets."

"Sweets?" Jean asked.

"Yeah," Ranma-chan acknowledged.

"In the mood for some now?"

"Sure, seein as I'm already a girl."

"Let's go get some ice cream then." With that, the two girls left the medical bay. As they walked to the elevator, they passed Scott.

'Reason number five of why she won't be done with her scan till tomorrow," he thought to himself. 'She'd get more work done if she focused."

"Scott!" Jean shouted as the elevator doors closed.

"Oh man..."

(A/N Watashi wa nihongo hanasemasen I can not speak Japanese

Sorry I didn't add that sooner. Sort of answers the age old question of what language Ranma's been speaking and makes fun of how almost everyone in my stories suddenly seems bilingual. Often I do this because these crossovers would be next to impossible otherwise.) 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Version 1.3

"Dr. Kinney," a man's voiced called out as she heard a knock on her door. "We have the report on the girl's escape."

"What took you so long?" she called to him. The man, in his early thirty's, slowly entered and approached her.

"We're sorry but the subject was hard to track."

"Fine, I'll read the report," Dr. Kinney angrily replied, not wanting to hear excuses.

"Yes ma'am."

She turned the first page and began to read. Moments later, she slammed the report down.

"My lord, we had someone like this in our grasp?" Her first thought was she wish she'd known sooner. "She really vanished from sight?"

"Yes ma'am. The recording clearly showed this. I've disciplined the person that failed to notice this." As she listened she picked the report back up and began to read it again.

"I want an explanation for this part soldier."

"Which part ma'am?"

"The one that says she broke down the main door with her bare hands."

"I'm confused. What aren't you clear about?"

"That door... Isn't it roughly three feet of pure steel?"

"Yes ma'am."

"And you expect me to believe she brought it down all by herself with no weapons or explosives. Just her bare hands."

"Yes ma'am. I've included all the video data we collected on the DVD that is in the folder."

"I'll be sure to watch this. If this is some sort of sick joke that Dr. Rice is trying to play on me, you can tell him I will be writing up a formal protest."

"I assure you ma'am, this is no joke."

"I'll know that soon enough won't I?"

"Yes ma'am." She glared at the solder for a second, wishing the young man would knock it off with the yes ma'am line. It was getting old fast. Of course, being military, he was just doing as he was trained.

"You're dismissed." She then pulled out the DVD and placed it into her computer, intent on uncovering the truth.

- - - - -

Jean lead Ranma to the cafeteria and as they got closer, Ranma began to notice several kids appear. Most of them looked normal enough, but some of them were off a little. Two or three even reminded her of the time she had her run in with the Musk tribe as the appeared to be part animal.

"Is this your first time being around mutants?"

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that. Unless the Musk Tribe is actually a group of mutants..."

"I've never heard of any group called that. I'll be sure to ask the Professor."

"Don't bother. That groups problems are a lot weirder the mutations."

"Oh..."

The two rounded the last corner to the cafeteria. The aroma hit Ranma's nose and her mouth began to salivate. Jean could only giggle at this response.

"Sorry, haven't eaten in almost a day."

"Well, in that case, I'm sure the lunch lady could fix you a meal to go with the ice cream."

"Really? Thank you!" They quickly got their trays and began to pick out a selection of foods. Moments later, the took the variety of foods to a table.

"You sure got a lot there. You really gonna eat it all?" Jean asked, eyeing several burgers, hotdogs, and salads adorning Ranma's tray.

"Sure," she happily replied. 'Food and no Panda to fight off.'

"Just don't eat too fast or...," she stopped as she realized it was too late. Ranma's tray was now filled with only empty plates. "Ranma!"

"What?" Ranma jumped an inch as Jean shouted her name.

"Don't eat so fast. You might choke!"

"Nah, I eat like that all the time. Speed training me and pop used to do."

"Speed training?"

"Yeah, it was real simple. Eat or starve."

"This father of yours sounds almost abusive..."

"What? Pop? Nah, he ain't abusive... I mean he hits me from time to time, but then I hit back. That's sort of how sparing goes after all. And even when we did the speed training, I always seemed to get just enough so I wouldn't have trouble sleeping."

"Sounds like you respect him."

"Respect? I wouldn't go that far, but he did make me the fighter I am today." Ranma's vision suddenly went to her her hands. At first she felt a small tingling sensation. That sensation soon became a strong itch.

"What's wrong?"

"Eh, it's nothing... just an itch... strange huh?"

"Yeah... just try not to scratch at it. You might just make it worse."

"Sure thing...," she resigned and stopped her scratching. Moments later, she was able to block out the itchy feeling.

"I'll get you an anti-itching cream later ok?"

"Don't worry 'bout it. I can't even feel it any more."

"You sure?"

"Yup..." Ranma suddenly lifted her nose. She couldn't be sure, the the smell of the food in front of her was suddenly a lot stronger. It was as if the quantify had suddenly tripled. It wasn't just her own food that suddenly smelled stronger. It was as if the lunch lady, if you could call that a lady, had gone around to each table and lumped on several extra helpings. She pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempted to gain control of her sense.

"Got a headache coming on?" This question struck Ranma as odd, considering how often she was sure she actually did have one. For a change, she didn't have one and someone was finally kind enough to ask.

"Nah, it's nothing. I think this pregnancy is starting to effect my brain. Those babies do that right? Suck out the mother's brain?"

"No, I don't think so Ranma. Were you able to go through sex education while you were in High School?"

"Not really."

"Well, the mansion, as you might have figured out, serves as a fully functioning high school as well as a place for mutants to live. If you'd like, I can arrange to have you take some classes."

"I don't know..."

"Come on Ranma," Jean smiled brightly. "You'll enjoy meeting kids your own age."

"I'll... think about it."

"Alright, but you're really going to need to take the sex education class along with a basic parenting class."

"I'll do that sex education class, but I'm not gonna need the other. I ain't keepin it. Only think stopping me from aborting it is that it's a life and I won't kill anyone, not even an unborn child."

"Fine," Jean commented slightly down about Ranma's statement. "It's been fun, but I need to get back to work. I trust you can find your way around by now?"

"Yeah, mostly...," Ranma commented half heartedly. "I'll be ok."

Ranma watched as Jean walked away and she wondered for just a moment about what she thought of her.

- - - - -

As Ranma walked down the corridors, she let her mind wander where it may. It kept coming back to the reason she wouldn't allow herself to show her nervousness, no matter how small it was.

'Why?' her mind asked. The only answer that came back was 'A confident man never needs to be nervous.'

She wasn't exactly sure why then her mind kept asking the same thing over and over. Through confidence in her skills and her strength, she'd made it this far. How far could it take her before her shell cracked?

As she turned the corner, she accidently walked directly into another person. Or perhaps a person shaped wall, she wondered as she fell straight onto her rump. Looking up, she spotted a woman who's hair was almost entirely a dark brown, with the exception of a white streak near the front.

"Ya'll should watch where ya headed sugar," the woman commented as she offered one of her gloved hands to Ranma. She pointedly ignored the offer and sprung to her feet.

"Sorry about that,"Ranma stated.

"No problem. Ma name's Rogue. What's yours?"

"Saotome Ranma."

"Saotome eh? That's a nice name. Sounds Chinese."

"Actually it's Japanese."

"Oh. Don't ya'll use your family names first?" To this question, Ranma mearly nodded her head. "Must mean then your name is actually Ranma."

Suddenly, a large man collided with Rogue, tossing her into Ranma and knocking the both of them down. Ranma felt two sensations. First was the feel of Rogue's soft cheek making contact with her own. The second was the strong sensation that she was being drained of her life force. 

It was an odd sensation. In Ranma's mind, she saw the shape of the energy drain source. It was a rounded edge. It didn't take her long to see it was a cheek. Before she could understand the nature of the energy drain, it stopped completely as Rogue managed to roll off of her. 

Before Ranma could ask Rogue what happened, she got to her feet and took off. From her angle though, it appeared as if Rogue was crying. She wanted to run after the southern girl, but her body felt drained. It was as if she'd gone a few rounds with Kuno and Mousse. Concentrating, she was able to gather her life force and restore her body back to normal

- - - - -  
As Rogue sat shaking in the garden, she repeated quietly to herself that it wasn't her memory. Still, just thinking there was someone with a memory like that was enough to send her flying. She could still remember the sensation of being tossed into a pit of cats. To her it didn't make any sense. Just a world of pain.

She resolved that she would speak to Ranma about it, but she wasn't sure how to explain why she suddenly darted off. Before she could, she heard a person stop behind her. Turning cautiously around, she saw it was the girl that Ranma.

"Eh sugar..." She weakly stated.

"You ok?" Ranma asked carefully, not wanting to sound too kind. She'd seen how girls react to kindness and wasn't ready for another fiancée yet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rogue lied. "I'm more worried 'bout you. Ya'll alright?"

"Never better," she replied, flexing her muscles.

"Ya'll act like a man. Must get that from the man I saw in your mind..."

"Huh? You a telepath?"

"Nah. My mutant power is to drain energy with skin to skin contact. Whenever it happens, I take a person's life force as well as any mutant powers and memories. I really didn't mean to."

"Oh," was all Ranma could manage.

"Who did that to you?" Rogue suddenly asked.

"Did what?"

"Threw you into that pit with those cats?" Ranma could see this was causing Rogue some distress.

"It was my old man."

"Your father did that to you?"

"Yeah, the old man never bothers to read the entire directions for anything and thought it'd be a good thing to teach me."

"What a horrible man..."

"Pop? He's not the brightest but he raised me well enough. About all he really messed up on was that Neko-ken. That and trying to marry me to that Kawaiikune"

"Hmm? What was that about uncute girl?"

"Eh? I said kawaiikune, but yeah, that's sort of means that," she stated before pausing to think. "Wait, you speak Japanese?"

"Now aren't ya'll just changing the subject?" Rogue tried to joke. "I told ya'll, I tend to absorb some memories... guess that was one of them. That word I should say. What sort of man would you bother callin that sugar?"

"Akane ain't no man. She's just a clumsy tomboy. Grace of an alligator in a leotard."

"She really that bad?" she started to ask before realizing what she was saying. "Hold on, why would your father engage you to a woman? Wait a minute... You're that man!"

"Keep it down," Ranma tried to quietly yell, with no real success on either part. She only ended up sounding hoarse.

"So ya'll like to dress in drag?"

"Dress in what? I normally wear a Chinese silk outfit... why you ask?"

"No silly. I mean you prefer to dress as a woman?" It was this time a sudden cloud seemed to appear almost directly over head of Rogue and Ranma. Without warning, warm rain was showered on the two. Rogue was left blinking as Ranma transformed before her eyes.

- - - - -

"Thank you Storm," Jean said with a smile.

"Don't mention it. The grass in that area needed a good rain any ways."

- - - - -

Rogue could only stare at Ranma, her mouth hung open in a very unlady-like fashion. Not that Ranma would know what was lady like. After recovering from her shock, the two had a long talk about bamboo poles and drowned women they'd never met.

"Rogue, can I touch your cheek for a moment?"

"Ya'll gotta death wish?"

"I won't if that would offend you."

"Nah, it's just I already told you I drain people's powers on skin contact right?" Ranma only nodded yes to this question. "And I can't control it. You touch me and I drain. It's as simple as that."

Before she could stop Ranma, his hand reached out and made contact. He felt the similar drain happening. It was an odd sensation, but like the last time, he could feel the pull. He wasn't sure how to stop it yet, but an idea was forming. He quickly remembered how Rogue's chi felt and removed his hand. For a moment, he felt weak again, but he managed to stay up. 

"Sorry, I had to know something... Excuse me. I should get back to my room." Before Rogue could stop him, Ranma took off.

- - - - -

The rest of Ranma's day passed without incident, which was nice she figured. After all, even she got tired of the constant fights. A day off was exactly what she needed. Not that her morning had been peaceful with her being attacked by the men in black. She hoped it would be some time before she would have to deal with them. Not that she planned to avoid them forever. She simply wanted the child out of her before she went jumping into a potentially dangerous situation.

Though her oath to protect the innocent was typically unspoken, she felt compelled.

"Look you," she started, staring at her stomach. "I vow to keep you safe till you're born, but don't start callin me mama you got me? I'm just an unlucky vessel. And I vow to bring down the bastards that did this to me once you're safely in someone else's arms."

- - - - -

(A/N First of all, I want to apologize for the shortness of this chapter. Despite the actual number of things that happen being bigger, I couldn't seem to write enough detail about each even to make it as long as the last two chapters. Perhaps during the rewrite, I'll manage to get it up to 20k.

As for which X-men Universe this takes place it, all I can say to that is it is not the X-Men Evolution world. This X-Men Universe is based off how the X-Men Universe used to be roughly in 1996. This means that Rogue still has Ms Marvel's powers and not that other person's. There isn't an actual time though from the comics that all of this takes place.

Also, there will be elements from the movie added from time to time as well. Nothing major of course. Mainly elements that I couldn't remember or thought were to confusing in the comic for such a FanFiction.

Thanks for reviewing. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to tell me. Have a great day.) 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ranma laid in her bed, staring at her hand. She watched it carefully as she forced her chi to focus there and shift back and forth. Ever since her meeting with Rogue, she felt a strange longing to help her feel the touch of another person. She had a few theories on how to make this possible, but she wouldn't know if she couldn't touch Rogue's skin again. Of course, she'd figured out a way to do this and not raise suspicion. She didn't want to get Rogue's hopes up after all.

'If I can just touch her long enough... maybe I could do that...' Ranma wondered to herself. 'It worked on the teach after all...'

Checking out the window, she noticed it was well passed time to get up. Her usual morning, if you could call it that, started a trip to the basement to meet up with Jean Grey.

- - - - -

"Good morning Ranma," Jean cheerfully greeted Ranma. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah," Ranma answered, remember how soft her bed was.

"Oh, have you met Storm?" Jean pointed to the African woman standing next to her.

"Storm? Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Ranma."

"You must be the one that predicts the weather around here."

"Close, but it's more like, I'm the one that makes the weather around here," Storm replied with a smirk. "Like rain at above room temperatures."

"What! So it was you that did that yesterday? I was wondering how come it suddenly rained... not to mention how it was suddenly warm rather then cold."

"It takes some doing, but yes. Jean told me to do it." Ranma turned to Jean.

"I sensed you were having trouble talking to Rogue and decided to help you get over it. Don't worry, I'm not trying to set you up with someone," Jean reassured Ranma before sending a telepathic message to Storm, 'Yet.'

"About that rain Storm?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"If it's all the same, would you mind not doing that to me any more?" Ranma asked.

"Since you asked so nicely, I promise."

"Me and Storm have some things we need to talk about and we're done here Ranma." To this, Ranma nodded and made her way out of the medical bay.

- - - - -

Ranma spotted Rogue and called her over.

"Hey sugah," she called out.

"Hey Rogue."

"Now yah aren't plannin on tryin to touch me again?"

"Not sure."

"Ah don't want you to go hurtin yourself or worse."

"Don't worry about me Rogue."

"Yah always full of confidence ain'cha?"

"Eh? Yeah, when you're as good as me, why not?" This caused Rogue to laugh.

"Both times you touched me, I felt a swell of confidence. It was a great feelin." To this, Ranma could only shrug. She'd never really thought about how it feels to be confident. She just was and that was enough for her. "Yah never did tell me why exactly ya like tryin to touch me."

"Eh," Ranma started, wondering if she should tell Rogue what she had in mind. "I wanted to see if that energy drain you have is the same as a 'friend' of mine."

"Ya say friend, but I hear a little bitterness in there."

"She's my teacher and she prefers to drain me of my energy once or twice a day."

"That must be why yah were able to hold on to me as long as you did without fallin over," she said with a smile.

"There's some differences between you two of course. Her ability comes from a modified metabolism. I eventually learned a way to turn off the power to her ability..."

"Yer joshin me right?" she said, her voice obviously filled with nervousness and distrust

"No, but I don't know if that technique would work for you. Also if it did, doing it daily might eventually turn off your power for good."

"But wouldn't it be worth it to finally be able to touch someone?" Rogue wondered aloud.

"Don't go gettin your hopes up. After all, I don't know if it'll work. Also I gotta touch you some place that might seem perverted." To this, Rogue could only muster a lifted eyebrow. "It's some pressure points. Three on your chest and two on your back."

Ranma pointed to the locations on herself causing Rogue to laugh.

"Interesting place for pressure points don't ya think hun?"

"I told ya, they make me look like a pervert, but they're real."

"Relax sugah, I believe you." Rogue stated in a relaxed tone.

"You do?" Ranma replied in a shocked tone.

"In the two times we've made contact, I've never gotten any memories that made me feel as if you were the type that would harm me."

"Well, I better get going. I need to see the professor," Ranma suddenly announced. She turned to walk away.

"What, not gonna try touchin me after all?" Ranma could only imagine how perverted that sounded. She turned and reached out, letting her hand glance Rogue's cheek. The moment Ranma made contact, there was a brief spark that appeared. Ranma then turned and left, leaving Rogue behind to try and figure out what had just happened.

- - - - -

"Ranma, thank you for seeing me on such short notice," Xavier greeted the young man.

"Sure, no problem. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd considered my offer to stay."

"I really haven't thought about it much. I think I don't really have a choice. My fiancée back home would kill me if she found out about this."

"I understand. Would you like to call them at least and let them know you're alright?"

"Sure... I guess that would be a good idea..."

Xavier went to one of the drawers and pulled out a cell phone and tossed it to Ranma. Ranma carefully caught the phone and stared at it for a moment.

'Who to call?' he mused.

"You can keep that phone. I don't want you to feel rushed. Take your time and call whomever you feel would desire to know you are well."

"Thanks..." she absent-mindedly replied. Her thoughts were still deeply focused on trying to decide who would care that she wasn't there any more.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts, but feel free to come to me if you need any advise. My door is always open." Xavier proceeded to leave his own office.

- - - - -

Rogue slowly munched on her food and wondered for a moment about Ranma. She touched her cheek where Ranma's hand briefly made contact and she remembered the feeling of electricity.

'Who is he really though?' she asked herself. 'All I have are a hand full of memories, only a few of which make much sense at all and he hasn't told me a lick.'

As she pondered it some more, one memory in particular hit her. Nerima.

'I think it's where he's spent the most time recently... Maybe I could stop in there and have a look around...'

For the next hour, Rogue thought long and hard before deciding on her course of action. She went to her room and pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down a long message. She would leave it on her bed, knowing someone would come looking eventually.

- - - - -

Ranma wandered around the mansion aimlessly, her attention focused on the phone. Since the moment she opened her eyes in the strange hospital, she'd focused on watching where she was, where she was going, and how to keep on her toes. She hadn't allowed herself to think of home and of Akane.

She slowly began to enter the numbers to the Tendo family phone. In her mind, she wondered who would be the one to answer. As she entered the last number, she pressed send. The ringing started and moments seemed to pass before she heard a click sound.

"Tendo residence."

"Hi Kasumi."

"Oh hello Ranma. It's so good to hear your voice. Everyone has been so worried around here about you."

"I'm sorry Kasumi, but things happened. I'm alright though," Ranma lied. She didn't want anyone to know what had happened to her. Not if she could help it any ways. "Kasumi, I'm gonna be gone for a while, but I'll be back. I promise."

"Do you know how long?" Kasumi asked, her concern was obvious in her voice.

"I'm at a school. A higher learning school. They're gonna teach me all sorts of stuff. I think I should be done in about nine months though..."

"Higher learning? Sounds like so much fun. I wish I could join you there," then there was a pause. "Nine months? You should really take more time and enjoy your stay there Ranma."

"No, it's alright Kasumi. In nine months, everything should be over with. It'll all be over then..."

"Are you alright Ranma?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Oh... nothing. Something in your voice got really depressed sounding for a moment. Is there a number we can reach you at?"

"I'm not sure the number to this phone, but I'll call back as soon as I can and let you know."

"Thank you very much Ranma. I have to be going now so I'll talk to you later."

"Ok. Bye Kasumi." With that, the receiver went quiet. She didn't pull the phone away from her ear right away though. She just stood in place, thinking. She wanted to tells someone what she did, but who to tell. She didn't want to bother Xavier and she was definitely tired of seeing Jean. Her only other real option in her mind was Rogue.

She quickly made her way to Rogue's room. When she arrived, all she found waiting for her was the note.

- - - - -

"She's left you say?" Xavier asked.

"Yes, she left this," Ranma said as she handed Xavier the letter. She gave him time to read it. "It seems she's decided to take a trip. I see nothing wrong with this."

"But..." She had to pause. Why was she so worried. After all, with powers like hers, there weren't many places she'd would be in danger going to. "I wanted to tell her something..."

"It seems you two have become rather good friends in your short stay."

"Well, she sort of reminds me of someone I used to consider a good friend."

"I'm sure she'll be back soon. In the mean time..."

"I'll be staying till the baby is born," Ranma interrupted.

"Wonderful. Welcome to the mansion then."

- - - - -

A month had gone by since Ranma was taken against her will and implanted with the unknown mutant embryo. She was living in the mansion of the world's most powerful telepath, Professor Charles Xavier. Each day, she went down to see Jean and they did a scan to make certain the baby was still healthy. 

Despite Jean's request, Ranma still felt it necessary to change into her male form once or twice a day. She felt if she didn't, she would lose her male identity.

At the moment, Ranma was male and on his back. The table he was resting on had just slide out of the scanner and he was waiting for Jean to tell him they were done.

"Ranma, come here," Jean called to him.

"What's up?"

"Take a look at this," she said as she directed his attention to the screen. Her attention was focused on an x-ray view of his forearm. He saw the two bones. There was something else there though, but not being a doctor he couldn't tell what he was looking at.

"What is it Jean?"

"As far as I can tell, it's cartilage. Two columns of it to be accurate. It almost seems as if your body is collecting calcium in a mass quantity," She then moved the image to Ranma's foot. "As you can see here, there's a column of the cartilage in each of your feet as well."

"This must be one of those mutations you said were gonna happen..." Ranma said with a hint of nervousness as he messaged his forearm.

"It might be nothing though. We'll just keep monitoring your progress. For now, please change back into a girl." This request only brought a dark cloud over Ranma's head. Jean knew Ranma preferred to be a man, but she was glad that Ranma wasn't likely to make any more trouble for her other then a mild bit of depression.

As Ranma left the room, she continued to look over the scan's results carefully. Something about the scan didn't add up. Her attention was drawn to the X-Gene scan which oddly enough appeared to be under-going a mutation of it's own.

She quickly reached for the phone and dialed the only person she knew that could help her.

"Yes?" a sturdy voice answered.

"Hank?" Jean requested.

"This is he speaking. How are you this fine evening Jean?"

"I'm doing good. I'm sorry to bother you like this."

"No bother. Is there something I can do?"

"Yes, we've recently taken in a mutant with a rather odd X-gene. I was hoping you'd be willing to look over the scan and tell me what you think."

"Of course Jean. I'd be most happy to assist. In fact at this very moment, I have nothing at all do to."

"Thanks Hank."

- - - - -

Hank was at first a bit surprised at the large amount of raw data that was sent to him by Jean, but decided with a smile, one could never really have too much data. He quickly entered the data through a comparative search to show the differences in the various scans he was sent.

"Amazing," he commented to himself as he eyed one of the scans showing the newly developing cartilage inside Ranma's arms and feet. The computer suddenly bleeped to let him know it required his attention. He saw the computer wanted to tell him it would be three hours. Looking at his watch, he decided lunch on the town was what he needed. 

- - - - -

Ranma sat in her room, once more considering her current set of problems with no real information. She only knew that as time went on, her life in Nerima was going on without her and for whatever reason she couldn't figure out, it bothered her.

'Ranma,' a disembodied voice called out. This caused Ranma to jump.

"That you Professor?"

'Yes, I was wondering if you would meet me in the sub-basement.'

"Sure... I'll be right there..."

'For what I have in mind, it would be best to change into a man. Less risk to the baby you're carrying.'

"Sure..." the mention of the baby made him frown, but he considered how normally everyone wanted him to be a girl, so this request was a refreshing change of pace.

- - - - -

As the elevator doors opened, Ranma was greeted by Xavier and a small group of teenagers.

"Welcome Ranma. I asked you here because I would like you to participate in an exercise. I created it to help teach combat against Sentinels."

"Sentinels?" Ranma's mind began to picture gladiator like humans.

"Sentinels are giant mutant hunting robots designed and run by an off shot group formed by the US government. Rather then explain them, follow me and I'll show you what one looks like."

Ranma and the group of young mutants followed close behind Xavier as he lead them to the Danger Room. Inside, Ranma saw it. The hulking form, chromed in red and standing as tall as an office building. Something most mutants prayed to never meet and many others never lived to regret. The Sentinel.

- - - - -

(A/N This chapter is so far the second shortest chapter. I hope to write a fairly long 4k to 5k fight scene in the Danger Room against the Sentinel, followed by several other events including the return of Rogue. I was going to have her return in this chapter, but decided having her leave and return in one chapter defeated the drama of it all.

Speaking of Rogue, I'm writing a side story to explain where she is during that month. It'll be a one shot and I'll post it by itself probably. Not sure it'd work as a chapter 5 since it takes place in the middle of this chapter. I suppose I could've written it in chapter 4, but it's going to be roughly 30k to 40k long and wouldn't follow very much of what's happened in this story so far. It just seems natural to publish it on it's own and hope that people don't wonder where Ranma is.

I hope no one threatens to hunt me down for publishing chapters even though I fully admit they aren't the final product and that I'm already planning a sever rewrite of them. I feel almost evil, but I just can't leave these sit on my computer or they'll die and the story would never get written in any form. I think that would be a great disservice to my muse who is really working hard despite my busy schedule.

I could really use a pre-reader. Someone I can email these new chapters to. Maybe then the rewrites will be more about improving the story and less about correcting the grammer I didn't realize I'd messed up on.

Till next time, have a great day.) 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ranma looked out at the chrome giant, feeling a mixture of fear and nervousness. He was sure he could take the thing down, but part of him wondered. After all, it wasn't every day he came across giant killer robots.

"I got this," He confidently stated as he started towards it.

"Not so fast Ranma," Xavier called out. "I know I said combat against, but the most important rule when face to face with a Sentinel is to know it's ok to run."

"Run?" Ranma scoffed. "I ain't afraid of that thing. It's not like it's a giant metal ca.. ca... cat..."

"You mustn't take the Sentinels lightly. Their primary object is to eliminate all mutants they encounter. Now as I said earlier," Xavier started as he turned to the group of students. "I created this program to teach combat against Sentinels, however for our purpose, I want to make you all aware of how dangerous they are."

"Enough of this. I can take it." With that, Ranma charged into battle.

"Ranma, don't!" Xavier shouted, but his plea fell on deaf ears as Ranma ran up giant and took up a stance. As Xavier looked over the faces of the other children, he could see their worry written on their faces. "You will all see first hand it seems just how dangerous one of these can be, but take heart though as this simulated version can not kill."

Stepping out onto road, Ranma faced the metal menace. Here, he could see it was even taller then he originally thought it was. Not knowing anything at all about his foe, he knew he'd have to make the first move. Ranma rushed in and took a jab at the Sentinel's leg and was surprised when all he left was a small dent. This attack also gained the attention of the Sentinel, which turned it's head to face Ranma general direction.

"Mutant detected. Beginning termination," it monotonously stated as it aimed it's hands at Ranma and began blasting. As Ranma dodged with a back-flip, he watched in horror as the beam caused a good sized crater to form in the ground.

Realizing his current plan wasn't going to work, he searched his surrounding hoping to find some decent cover. The area was straight out of a post apocalyptic horror movie with buildings partially destroyed, cars randomly abandoned, and an oddly deep orange sun drenched sky. He spotted what appeared to be the remains of an gas station and sprinted towards it, hoping he could get there safely. A moment later, he was ducking behind the remains.

As he tightened his fist, he began to go over various ideas for attack. He already could tell it'd take too long to beat the Sentinel down at his current level and with the blasters, the Sentinel was protected fairly well against direct air attacks. His best chance would be to match it's size and wrestle it down, but he'd never tried his father's technique even though he'd seen it done a few times.

'No time like actual combat to test it,' he thought. He quickly focused his chi in his center. When it felt dense enough, he pushed it outward to fill his whole being and bounded it to his flesh. With a loud yell, he then pushed the chi outward further and felt the disorienting sensation of his muscles and bones stretching to match. Looking down, he saw his body was already twice it's normal size and he wanted to be happy about this, but he held his concentration so he wouldn't lose his current size.

At this time a shot whizzed past his head and for a second he wondered if the Sentinel was programmed to give warning shots. He ducked down, trying to buy more time to grow. He still needed another minute at his current growth rate to match the Sentinel's size. 

'If I'm gonna do this again, I really need to practice and perfect it,' he mentally noted. His fear though was realized as the Sentinel rounded the corner and took aim. He quickly evaded with a side step and took off running. As he ran, he felt the rate of growth slow down as his concentration was diverted.

- - - - -

In the control room, Xavier watched with fascination as Ranma sized grew larger and larger. His new student was apparently even more special then he could have imagined and so far seemed to be willing to fight for the right side.

'Jean,' Xavier called out with his mind.

'Yes Professor?'

'I wanted to let you know I'll be sending you the Danger Room data on Ranma.'

'Danger Room? Is he really ready for that?'

'Yes my dear and it seems he's managed to surprise us again. I'm hoping you might see if the data indicates how he is doing what he's doing.'

'What he's doing?'

'I think the data will tell the tale better then I can.'

'Of course, I'll be waiting.' With that, Xavier turned his attention back to the fight. He could see that at this time, Ranma was now the same height as the Sentinel and was facing it.

- - - - -

Ranma huffed and puffed, his lungs burning. He wasn't used to holding his energy in such an odd way and he recalled how his dad had been unable to hold it for more then a minute or so against Happousai. He figured he could hold it longer, but how much was the question. Deciding that odds were strong that he'd run out of strength quickly, he opted for a quick strike. He charged, stepping over simulated cars and building remains, reaching the Sentinel. As he approached, the Sentinel fired several blast from it's palm. Rather then try to block them, Ranma dodged left and right and was with in striking distance in the blink of an eye. He took aim at the hulking giants chest and let his fists fly. 

As he started, he vaguely recalled seeing the hand of the Sentinel raise towards his face. He felt an intense heat build up and his own conscious was giving way due to the over taxation of his body. He couldn't even tell if he was still punching, but he willed the signals to continue to his arms. Just before he passed out, he was sure the Sentinel fired it's beam and he thought, 'I lost?...'

- - - - -

Ranma awoke slowly, his head throbbed for a moment to remind him he'd come close to spending all of his life force in a apparently vain attempt to show off. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone or back down if the challenge presented itself again. He had too much pride to do that. So he would do what he always did and damn the consequences.

A quick glance told him he was in the medical bay yet again. He was quickly growing tired of being there, but knew that till his child was born, he couldn't afford to avoid it.

His thoughts drifted to the family he hadn't spoken to for some time and he reached for the cell phone in his pocket. Slowly pulling it out, he eyed it and wondered how much he'd end up regretting making the call.

His mind was still wondering if he should, when he heard a voice from the phone.

"Hello?" The voice called out. It sounded like Nabiki's voice. 

'Did she figure out his number,' Ranma wondered. "Hello..."

"Ranma," Nabiki stated sounding slightly surprised. "Where are you? Where have you been? Everyone has been worried sick about you."

"I told Kasumi where I was at..."

"You told her you're at a school and if you're wondering, there's a lot of schools in the world. Saying that is almost the most vague thing you could have told her."

"Sorry... I wasn't ready to give any more information..."

"Ranma are you in some kind of trouble?" Ranma thought for a moment on whether he wanted to tell her anything or not.

"What do you mean? Me? In trouble?"

"That's what I asked Ranma. Look, I promise you can tell me."

"Yeah right Nabiki. I tell you, next thing I know I got the real trouble at my new door step."

"Does that mean you've run away?"

"Nah... but regardless as to how I got here, I'm not to eager any more to rush back... I'll return, but not a moment before I decide." This brought about a moment of silence. He began worrying that he'd taken it too far and caused her to hang up, but then he heard a sigh.

"Can I at least get the number of where you're staying? So we can keep you informed if anything happens."

"Wait, didn't you call?"

"No Ranma, you called. Geez, things must be bad if you aren't even aware of what your own fingers are doing."

"Oh, sorry," Ranma said nervously before giving her the cell's number. After a few more pleasant words, Ranma said his good byes and hung up.

- - - - -

Nabiki looked at the number and knew what she had to do. The only problem was how to do it without tipping the others off to her find. She had no desire to throw trouble Ranma's way. At least not until she understood the situation better.

"Nabiki?" Akane asked as she turned the corner. "Who was that?"

"That?" Nabiki asked innocently. "It was Ranma."

"Ranma?" her face light up for a moment. "Let me talk to him!"

"I'm sorry, but he had to run off," Nabiki lied.

"Oh...," Akane's disappointment was not very well hidden. "Did he leave a call back number this time?"

"Sorry, but it seems to have slipped his mind again. Next time I'll definitely force it out of him."

"Ok Nabiki. Thanks."

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to go to school and take care of a few things. Don't wait up for me."

- - - - -

Jean felt bad for the young man before her. She'd had him coming in once a day to do two scans which she justified by saying she wanted to monitor the progress of the child, when in truth, she just wanted to study Ranma under a microscope. To her, Ranma was the strangest and most exciting discover she'd made in recent years.

However she could see his discomfort. She could even sense it radiating off of him. Ranma had managed to adjust quickly to life in the mansion with no visible signs of apprehension but as the days passed, she learned he was simply hiding it. It was there but buried under confidence.

Ranma current discomfort level only made what she was going to tell him even worse. She was sure of it.

"Spill it already Doc!" Ranma said in a rather impatient voice.

"I have some bad news... At least I can imagine you aren't going to be happy..."

"Doc, I'm pregnant. It can't get any worse as far as I'm concerned."

"The scans show you have a womb."

"Yeah, it's on the top floor of the mansion. What about it?"

"No Ranma, not a room. A womb, where the baby is growing..."

"Oh," Ranma said. For a moment his face blushed. "Big deal. I got breast and a few other female parts too."

"When you're a girl, you have those..."

"Doc, you aren't getting ready to suggest what I think you are... are ya?"

"You're male half has a womb and the embryo is no longer in an energy state." Ranma suddenly turned down and seemed deep in thought. "As far as I can tell, the change happened rather slowly over the last month."

"Damn it... and here I thought I was just putting on weight..." He punched down at the ground so hard, a small shock wave formed and dented the floor. This caused Jean to jump in surprise.

'And just earlier today he'd passed out from lack of energy.'

"Sorry Doc..."

"Don't worry about it. The floor probably had it coming."

"This is all happening cause of... it... isn't it?" Ranma asked.

"Yes," was all Jean could say.

"Then I don't want it..." Ranma suddenly muttered.

"What's that?" she asked as she tore her focus from the ruined section of floor.

"It, I don't want to keep it. Don't want to give birth to it. I don't want to be a mother to any one any ways!"

"You can't be serious? You want to abort your child?"

"I don't have a child... I never asked to and I never want to..." Ranma's eyes screwed shut in an attempt to keep from crying. He was about to get up when Jean sat next to him and hugged him. For several moments, the two simply sat side by side in an embrace before Ranma found his voice. "Sorry."

"You're under a lot of stress and you're going through something most women dread. You've been so brave Ranma, but please promise me you'll not act too rashly or on your own. If tomorrow you still want to go through with this abortion, tell me and I'll go with you."

"Thanks Doc... Jean." 

"You're welcome Ranma," she replied.

Getting uncomfortable with the close contact, Ranma a got up to leave the room.

"Uh, I... think I'll go and do some katas or something. I'll see you later..."

- - - - -

Ranma sat in his room, thinking about his sudden desire to abort the child.

'If I do, will my body return to normal?' he asked himself to no avail "It's your fault! I promise to protect you and you betray me... making me a girl... against my wishes..."

As he continued to think, there was a knock at his door.

"Hello, Ranma?" came the deep voice. To Ranma, the voice seemed to be a some what classy sounding voice mixed with a feral animal.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"My name is Hank McCoy. I wanted to see you in person. I'm a friend of Jean Grey's."

"Oh, sure, come in." Ranma tilted his head to see who entered. To his shock, a strange almost ape like man with dark blue hair covering his body entered.

"I'm sorry for my appearance," Hank calmly stated.

"No problem. Guess for a moment there, I forgot myself." As Ranma eyed Hank, he felt the strangest sensation that he was in danger.

"It happens to the best of us. I've been receiving reports on a regular basis and I must say I'm fascinated by your case. I'd love to take a closer look if you don't mind."

"Um, sure... you want to head downstairs."

"No, I don't think that'll be necessary," with that comment, Ranma felt an overwhelming need to sleep. "I do hope you like this new device of mine. It's created to induce deep sleep and requires no direct contact."

Hank pulled from his pocket a small transmitter.

"But... why?" Was all Ranma could mutter as his body slowly shutdown.

"It's simple my boy, what I want to do, I have no doubt would be against the "Professor's" desires. I greatly miss the days when I was able to do anything I wanted without fear of morality," the hairy man lamented. "For the Ages of Apocalypse.. None the less, I think I could learn a thing from you. Fear not, as I have no desire to do any long term damage to you."

His body finally gave out and he fell hard to the ground.

(I hope the Sentinel battle was to everyone's liking. I was able to deliver on my promise of a 5k fight scene. 

I hope the emotional pieces are working cause honestly I'm not a very emotional man in real life. Writing this is sort of like play acting for me. Not to mention, the direction part of the fic is taking is sort of against my own personal beliefs, but I won't go into detail. Also, I hope this chapter isn't too dark. I really don't want this fic to go that direction but dealing with the abortion issue is tricky.

Sorry this chapter took so long, but I'm feeling the effects of losing interest, which is funny as I still haven't actually gotten to the main story I wanted to tell.) 


End file.
